Blockchain transaction forwarding

ABSTRACT

The technology disclosed herein provides a blockchain transactions forwarding mechanism that allows for tracking and notification from the originating blockchain through to a last blockchain and back again. An implementation of the system disclosed herein also provides a whitelist mechanism to provide a list of acceptable blockchains or nodes that may receive transactions. Yet another implementation provides a predetermined hop count that may be used as the maximum allowable hop counts that provides the number of times a transaction is allowed to be forwarded.

BACKGROUND

Blockchains are quickly becoming accepted tools for organizing supplychains in various industries. Specifically, blockchains have beensuccessfully deployed in recording and verifying transactions at variousstages of supply chains, such as at production, shipping, saleschannels, etc. State of the art blockchain systems may include a largenumber of blockchains communicating information about one or moretransactions between such disparate blockchains. For example, animplementation of supply chain may include one blockchain that managestransactions at the shipping stage while another blockchain to managetransactions through sales channels. When a large number of blockchainsare used, tracking merchandise and transactions between such blockchainsgenerates its own unique challenges.

SUMMARY

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Otherfeatures, details, utilities, and advantages of the claimed subjectmatter will be apparent from the following, more particular writtenDetailed Description of various implementations as further illustratedin the accompanying drawings and defined in the appended claims.

The technology disclosed herein provides a blockchain transactionsforwarding mechanism that allows for tracking and notification from theoriginating blockchain through to a last blockchain and back again. Animplementation of the system disclosed herein also provides a whitelistmechanism to provide a list of acceptable blockchains or nodes that mayreceive transactions. Yet another implementation provides apredetermined hop count that may be used as the maximum allowable hopcounts that provides the number of times a transaction is allowed to beforwarded.

These and various other features and advantages will be apparent from areading of the following Detailed Description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the presenttechnology may be realized by reference to the figures, which aredescribed in the remaining portion of the specification. In the figures,like reference numerals are used throughout several figures to refer tosimilar components. In some instances, a reference numeral may have anassociated sub-label consisting of a lower-case letter to denote one ofmultiple similar components. When reference is made to a referencenumeral without specification of a sub-label, the reference is intendedto refer to all such multiple similar components.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example block diagram of a distributed ledger nodeused for the blockchain transaction forwarding system disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example block diagram of the blockchaintransaction forwarding system disclosed herein.

FIG. 3 illustrates example operations for forwarding transactionsbetween a plurality of different blockchains.

FIG. 4 illustrates an alternative block diagram of the blockchaintransaction forwarding system disclosed herein.

FIG. 5 illustrates another example block diagram of the blockchaintransaction forwarding system at another intermediate stage.

FIG. 6 illustrates yet another example block diagram of the blockchaintransaction forwarding system at yet another intermediate stage.

FIG. 7 illustrates yet another example block diagram of the blockchaintransaction forwarding system at yet another intermediate stage.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example processing system that may be useful inimplementing the described technology.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The technology disclosed herein provides a blockchain transactionsforwarding mechanism that allows for tracking and notification from theoriginating blockchain through to a last blockchain and back again. Animplementation of the system disclosed herein also provides a whitelistmechanism to provide a list of acceptable blockchains or nodes that mayreceive transactions. Yet another implementation provides apredetermined hop count that may be used as the maximum allowable hopcounts that provides the number of times a transaction is allowed to beforwarded.

In one implementation, a distributed ledger node may be generated basedon a hash generated using information about a transaction object, hopcount associated with the transaction object, whitelist informationassociated with the transaction object, etc., together with a digitalsignature of a device where such hash is generated. Such distributedledger node may be stored on a distributed ledger. In oneimplementation, a copy of the distributed ledger may be stored in thememory of the device creating the security node. Alternatively, thedistributed ledger may be stored on a network such as the Internet,which may be accessible to other third parties for independentverification.

An example of the distributed ledger is blockchain. Specifically, ablockchain is a decentralized and distributed digital ledger that isused to record transactions across many computers so that the recordcannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequentblocks and the collusion of the network. This allows the participants toverify and audit transactions inexpensively. Thus, the distributedledger provides a rich documentation and authentication about hop countand whitelist information associated with a transaction object. One ormore forwarding agent of the distributed ledger may use the hop countand whitelist information associated with the transaction object todetermine an action to be taken with the transaction object.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example block diagram 100 of a blockchaintransaction forwarding system 102 using an example distributed ledger104 to allow a set of network attached devices to communicate validatedtransactions between various distinct blockchains. The BTFS 102 may beinclude a number of blockchains BC1 142, BC2, 144, . . . BCn 148 wherethese blockchains are also communicatively connected to a number ofother interconnected devices identified as nodes. In the illustratedimplementation of the BTFS 102 one or more of the blockchains areconnected to a miner node M, a forwarding agent node FA, a transactingagent node TA, and a validating agent node VA. For example, theblockchain BC1 142 is connected to a miner node M1 152, a transactingagent node TA1 162, a forwarding agent node FA1 172, and a validatingagent node VA1 182. Furthermore, each of the blockchains 142, 144, 148may include a plurality of transaction blocks, such as a block N 106storing transactions 106 a . . . 106 n, a block N+1 108 storingtransactions 108 a, . . . 108 n, etc.

Configuration of each of the agent nodes 142-182 may be illustrated by adevice 110. The device 110 may also include a storage media 114 and astorage controller 128. Specifically, the storage media 114 store adigital signature module 118 that generates a digital signature that maybe used together with device ID 124 by a hash generator 116 to generatea hash that may be transmitted by a transmitter 126 to other of thenodes 142-182. Furthermore, the storage media 114 may also include a hopcount database 120 and a whitelist database 122. The hop count database120 may include hop count to be associated with each transaction for agiven blockchain.

For example, a transaction generated in the blockchain BC1 142 may haveassociated hop count of 2 specifying that the transaction may beforwarded to only two subsequent blockchains. The whitelist database 122may provide information about approved blockchains to which atransaction generated in a particular blockchain may be forwarded. Thus,a whitelist entry associated with the blockchain BC2 144 may providethat a transaction from the blockchain BC2 144 may be forwarded only toblockchain BC1 142 and a blockchain BCn 148. The hash generator 116 maygenerate a hash using the digital signature from the digital signaturemodule 118, a hop count from the hop count database 120, a whitelistinformation from the whitelist database 122, and a device ID information124. Furthermore, the hash generator 116 may also use information aboutprevious transactions from the distributed ledger 102 when generating anew hash.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example block diagram of the validated blockchaintransaction forwarding system 200 disclosed herein. As an example, theBTFS 200 is implemented between three blockchains or distributed ledgers(DL), namely a grower DL 210, a distributor DL 230, and a seller DL 250.Specifically, the grower DL 210 may be a blockchain used to managetransactions generated and validated by grower of a particularcommodity, such as fruits. Thus, each transaction stored on the growerDL 210 may be a transaction validated by various nodes of the grower DL210. Transactions stored on the grower DL 210 may be transactionsidentifying the produce, the location information about the produce, theharvesting information about the produce, the safety test results and/orcertifications about the produce, etc.

On the other hand, the distributor DL 230 may validate and store varioustransactions related to the distribution of the produce includingpackaging information, pick up and delivery information, refrigerationcertification, etc. The seller DL 250 may validate and store varioustransactions about sale of the produce, including information about dateand time of sale, sale price, customer information, etc.

While each of these blockchains 210, 230, 250 may be self-contained inthat they may not need to exchange information with outside parties,often it is necessary for transactions stored in one blockchain to beforwarded to another blockchain. For example, a grower DL transaction inthe grower DL 210 may be a preceding transaction for a distributiontransaction in the distributor network 230. Furthermore, such grower DLtransaction in the grower DL 21 may also be used together with a saletransaction in the seller DL 250. The BTFS 200 provides a mechanism thatallows for tracking and notification from an originating blockchain suchas the grower DL 210 through to the last blockchain, such as the sellerDL 250 using a transaction from the grower DL 210 and back. Furthermore,the BTFS 200 also provides a whitelist mechanism to control whichblockchains a transaction from the grower DL 210 may be forwarded to.

Each of the blockchains 210, 230, 240 may be associated with one or moretransacting agents 214, 234, 254 that generate transactions in thatparticular blockchain. Thus, the node TAG₁ may generate a transactionrepresenting production of a batch of particular produce. Additionally,each of the blockchains 210, 230, 250 may be associated with one or moremining agents 212, 232, 252 that validate transactions in thatparticular blockchain. Thus, for example, the nodes MG_(1-N) may beminer nodes for the grower DL 210, nodes MD_(1-N) may be miner nodes forthe distributor DL 230, and nodes MS_(1-N) may be miner nodes for theseller DL 250. In this case the nodes MG_(1-N) 212 may collectivelyapprove a transaction generated by a transaction node TAG_(i) 214 bysolving a proof of work problem.

Additionally, each of the blockchains in the BTFS 200 may be associatedwith various forwarding agents, the task of these forwarding agentsbeing monitoring transactions on multiple blockchains base on a set ofrules when a transaction in one blockchain needs to be forwarded toanother blockchain. Thus, a node FA₁ 216 may monitor forwarding of atransaction from the grower DL 210 to the distributor DL 230, and viceversa. In one implementation, the node FA₁ 216 may use a whitelistinformation and or hop count associated with the transaction todetermine the that particular transaction should be forwarded.

Additionally, each of the blockchains in the BTFS 200 may be associatedwith various validation agents, the task of these validation agentsbeing independently verifying that the actions of the forwarding agentsare valid. For example, a validating agent VA₁ 218 may monitorforwarding decisions made by the forwarding agent FA₁ 216. In oneimplementation, the mining agents 212, 232, etc., may also act asvalidating agents.

FIG. 3 illustrates example operations 300 for forwarding transactionsbetween a plurality of different blockchains. An operation 302 receivesa transaction object that is generated in response to a transaction. Forexample, a transaction object may be generated when a grower of aproduce generates a package for produce where the transaction objectincludes information identifying the grower, the location, the producetype, the produce quantity, the produce quality identifyingcharacteristics, etc. In response to receiving the transaction, anoperation 304 associates the transaction object with a hop count thatspecifies the number of blockchains to which a given transaction can beforwarded to.

An operation 306 generates a combination of the object and the hopcount. Such combination may itself be a transaction that is encrypted togenerate a hash. The combined transaction is approved by transactingagents and stored on various nodes of the blockchain at operation 308.For example, a number of mining nodes associated with that blockchainapprove the combination of the transaction with the hop count.

An operation 310 receives a forwarding request for the transactionobject. For example, such a forwarding request may be generated by aforwarding agent associated with the blockchain. In an example,implementation, a forwarding agent controlling forwarding oftransactions between a grower DL and a distributor DL may generate sucha request to the grower DL. A determining operation 312 evaluates thehop count associated with the transaction. Such evaluation operation 312may involve decrypting the combination of hash and the hop count toparse out the hash count and comparing its value to zero. If the valueis zero, an operation 314 notifies the requesting blockchain that theparticular transaction is not available for forwarding.

On the other hand, if the hop count is greater than zero, an operation316 revises the hop count by reducing the hop count by one (1). Anoperation 318 generates a new combined transaction object by combiningthe stripped original transaction object with the revised hop count andan operation 320 forwards the revised transaction object to therequesting blockchain.

FIG. 4 illustrates an alternative block diagram of the blockchaintransaction forwarding system 400 disclosed herein. Specifically, theBTFS 400 illustrates generation of a transaction T1 in a growerblockchain 410 and resulting additional transactions. For example, T1may be generated by a transacting agent TAG₁ 414 for production of, say100 boxes of peaches. The miners MG 412 have to approve the transactionT1 before it is added to the grower blockchain 410. In oneimplementation, the transaction T1 may also specify the hop count forthe transaction T1 as well as a whitelist for the transaction T1. Here,the hop count may specify the number of times the transaction T1 can beforwarded to other blockchains. The whitelist may specify the list ofblockchain to which the transaction T1 may be forwarded.

Once the transaction T1 is added, a forwarding agent FA₁ 416 may detectthat the 100 boxes of peaches that are represented by transaction T1 arebeing sent to a distributor B, where the distributor B is participant ofthe distributor blockchain 430. In one implementation, such detectionmay result from a request generated by the distributor B. Upon detectionof the forwarding of the commodity, such as the peaches, the forwardingagent FA₁ 416 generates a forwarding approval request transaction FR1 onthe grower blockchain 410. In one implementation, before generating theforwarding approval request transaction FR1, the forwarding agentanalyzes the transaction T1 to determine the hop count and the whitelistrelated to transaction T1 to determine if the transaction T1 can beforwarded to the distributor blockchain 430.

The forwarding approval request transaction FR1 is added to the growerblockchain 410 once the miners MG 412 approve it. Once the forwardingapproval request transaction FR1 is added to the grower blockchain, theforwarding agent FA₁ 416 may generate a new transaction T1∥FR1 thatrepresents the forwarding of the T1 transaction to the distributorblockchain 430. Furthermore, the forwarding agent FA₁ 416 may reduce thehop count associated with the new transaction T1∥FR1, representing thereduced number of times that any transaction generated from T1 can beforwarded.

In one implementation, the miners MG 412 may require that a validatingagent 418 approves the forwarding of the transaction T1 before theyapprove the forwarding approval request transaction FR1 and theadditional transaction T1∥FR1. Furthermore, the new transaction T1∥FR1is also added to the distributor blockchain 430 once the miners MD 432approve this transaction. In one implementation, the miners MD 432 mayalso require validation from the validating agent 418 before approvingthe transaction T1∥FR1.

FIG. 5 illustrates another example block diagram of the blockchaintransaction forwarding system 500 at another intermediate stage.Specifically, at this stage, a forwarding agent FA₂ 536 may be notifiedthat the produce represented by T1 and T1∥FR1 is destined for a seller Cin the seller blockchain 550. In response, the forwarding agent FA₂ 536may generate a forwarding approval request transaction FR2 on thedistributor blockchain 530 to forward the transaction T1∥FR1 to theseller blockchain 550. The forwarding agent FA₂ 536 may review the hopcount and the whitelist associated with the transaction T1∥FR1 before itgenerates the forwarding approval request transaction FR2. Once theminers MD 532 approve the forwarding approval request transaction FR2,it is added to the distributor blockchain 530.

Furthermore, the forwarding agent FA₂ 536 also generates a newtransaction T1∥FR1∥FR2 that represents the movement of the produce froma grower participant in the grower blockchain 510 to a sellerparticipant in the seller blockchain 550. Before the transactionT1∥FR1∥FR2 is added to the seller blockchain 550, it has to be approvedby the miners MS 552. In one implementation, the miners 552 may requireapproval from a validating agent VA₂ 536 before approving thetransaction T1∥FR1∥FR2. Furthermore, the forwarding agent FA₂ 536 mayalso change the hop count associated with the newly created transactionT1∥FR1∥FR2.

FIG. 6 illustrates yet another example block diagram of the blockchaintransaction forwarding system 600 at yet another intermediate stage.Specifically, the produce represented by the transaction T1 and relatedintermediate transactions may be sold and a transacting agent TAS 654 inthe seller network may generate a transaction TT1 representing the saleor the termination of the life cycle of the produce. Once thetransaction TT1 is approved by the miners MS 652, it is added to theseller blockchain 650. the forwarding agent FA₂ 636 may detect thecreation of the transaction TT1 and in response may decide to generatetransactions that reports the sale information back to the distributorblockchain 630 and to the grower blockchain 610.

In one implementation, the initial transaction T1 in the growerblockchain 610 may also specify a backward reporting requirement. Forexample, some participants in the grower blockchain 610 may specify thatwhen the sale transaction TT1 is created it would like to be notified.The forwarding agent FA₂ 636 may detect such requirement and/orpermission for back reporting from the transaction T1∥FR1∥FR2 and ifappropriate, it creates a new transaction T1∥FR1∥FR2∥TT1 andcommunicates it to the distributor blockchain 630. Once approved by theminers MD 632, the transaction T1∥FR1∥FR2∥TT1 is added to thedistributor blockchain 630.

FIG. 7 illustrates yet another example block diagram of the blockchaintransaction forwarding system 700 at yet another intermediate stage.Specifically, a forwarding agent FA₁ 716 detects the generation of thetransaction T1∥FR1∥FR2∥TT1 in the distributor blockchain 730 and inresponse, it forwards the back reporting transaction T1∥FR1∥FR2∥TT1 tothe grower blockchain 710. Once the miners MG 712 approve it, thetransaction T1∥FR1∥FR2∥TT1 is added to the grower blockchain 710. In oneimplementation, the miners MG 712 may require validation from avalidating agent 718 before they approve the transaction T1∥FR1∥FR2∥TT1to be added to the grower blockchain 710.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example processing system 800 that may be usefulin implementing the described technology. The processing system 800 iscapable of executing a computer program product embodied in a tangiblecomputer-readable storage medium to execute a computer process. Data andprogram files may be input to the processing system 800, which reads thefiles and executes the programs therein using one or more processors(CPUs or GPUs). Some of the elements of a processing system 800 areshown in FIG. 8 wherein a processor 802 is shown having an input/output(I/O) section 804, a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 806, and a memorysection 808. There may be one or more processors 802, such that theprocessor 802 of the processing system 800 comprises a singlecentral-processing unit 806, or a plurality of processing units. Theprocessors may be single core or multi-core processors. The processingsystem 800 may be a conventional computer, a distributed computer, orany other type of computer. The described technology is optionallyimplemented in software loaded in memory 808, a storage unit 812, and/orcommunicated via a wired or wireless network link 814 on a carriersignal (e.g., Ethernet, 3G wireless, 8G wireless, LTE (Long TermEvolution)) thereby transforming the processing system 800 in FIG. 8 toa special purpose machine for implementing the described operations. Theprocessing system 800 may be an application specific processing systemconfigured for supporting a distributed ledger. In other words, theprocessing system 800 may be a ledger node.

The I/O section 804 may be connected to one or more user-interfacedevices (e.g., a keyboard, a touch-screen display unit 818, etc.) or astorage unit 812. Computer program products containing mechanisms toeffectuate the systems and methods in accordance with the describedtechnology may reside in the memory section 808 or on the storage unit812 of such a system 800.

A communication interface 824 is capable of connecting the processingsystem 800 to an enterprise network via the network link 814, throughwhich the computer system can receive instructions and data embodied ina carrier wave. When used in a local area networking (LAN) environment,the processing system 800 is connected (by wired connection orwirelessly) to a local network through the communication interface 824,which is one type of communications device. When used in awide-area-networking (WAN) environment, the processing system 800typically includes a modem, a network adapter, or any other type ofcommunications device for establishing communications over the wide areanetwork. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relativeto the processing system 800 or portions thereof, may be stored in aremote memory storage device. It is appreciated that the networkconnections shown are examples of communications devices for and othermeans of establishing a communications link between the computers may beused.

In an example implementation, a user interface software module, acommunication interface, an input/output interface module, a ledgernode, and other modules may be embodied by instructions stored in memory808 and/or the storage unit 812 and executed by the processor 802.Further, local computing systems, remote data sources and/or services,and other associated logic represent firmware, hardware, and/orsoftware, which may be configured to assist in supporting a distributedledger. A ledger node system may be implemented using a general-purposecomputer and specialized software (such as a server executing servicesoftware), a special purpose computing system and specialized software(such as a mobile device or network appliance executing servicesoftware), or other computing configurations. In addition, keys, deviceinformation, identification, configurations, etc. may be stored in thememory 808 and/or the storage unit 812 and executed by the processor802.

The processing system 800 may be implemented in a device, such as a userdevice, storage device, IoT device, a desktop, laptop, computing device.The processing system 800 may be a ledger node that executes in a userdevice or external to a user device.

Data storage and/or memory may be embodied by various types ofprocessor-readable storage media, such as hard disc media, a storagearray containing multiple storage devices, optical media, solid-statedrive technology, ROM, RAM, and other technology. The operations may beimplemented processor-executable instructions in firmware, software,hard-wired circuitry, gate array technology and other technologies,whether executed or assisted by a microprocessor, a microprocessor core,a microcontroller, special purpose circuitry, or other processingtechnologies. It should be understood that a write controller, a storagecontroller, data write circuitry, data read and recovery circuitry, asorting module, and other functional modules of a data storage systemmay include or work in concert with a processor for processingprocessor-readable instructions for performing a system-implementedprocess.

For purposes of this description and meaning of the claims, the term“memory” means a tangible data storage device, including non-volatilememories (such as flash memory and the like) and volatile memories (suchas dynamic random-access memory and the like). The computer instructionseither permanently or temporarily reside in the memory, along with otherinformation such as data, virtual mappings, operating systems,applications, and the like that are accessed by a computer processor toperform the desired functionality. The term “memory” expressly does notinclude a transitory medium such as a carrier signal, but the computerinstructions can be transferred to the memory wirelessly.

In contrast to tangible computer-readable storage media, intangiblecomputer-readable communication signals may embody computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules or other data resident ina modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other signaltransport mechanism. The term “modulated data signal” means a signalthat has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such amanner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, andnot limitation, intangible communication signals include wired mediasuch as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless mediasuch as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.

The embodiments of the invention described herein are implemented aslogical steps in one or more computer systems. The logical operations ofthe present invention are implemented (1) as a sequence ofprocessor-implemented steps executing in one or more computer systemsand (2) as interconnected machine or circuit modules within one or morecomputer systems. The implementation is a matter of choice, dependent onthe performance requirements of the computer system implementing theinvention. Accordingly, the logical operations making up the embodimentsof the invention described herein are referred to variously asoperations, steps, objects, or modules. Furthermore, it should beunderstood that logical operations may be performed in any order, unlessexplicitly claimed otherwise or a specific order is inherentlynecessitated by the claim language.

The above specification, examples, and data provide a completedescription of the structure and use of example embodiments of thedisclosed technology. Since many embodiments of the disclosed technologycan be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosedtechnology, the disclosed technology resides in the claims hereinafterappended. Furthermore, structural features of the different embodimentsmay be combined in yet another embodiment without departing from therecited claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of providing a mechanism for forwardingtransaction between a plurality of blockchains, the method comprising:receiving a transaction object at a storage device, the storage devicestoring one or more blockchain data structures generated and managed bythe storage device for a first blockchain; associating the transactionobject with a hop count specifying the number of blockchains to whichthe transaction object can be forwarded; cryptographically signing acombination of the transaction object and the hop count using acryptographic key associated with the storage device and storing thesigned combination in the one or more blockchain data structures;receiving a forwarding request from a forwarding agent node to forwardthe transaction object to a second blockchain; and in response todetermining that the hop count is greater than zero, revising the hopcount associated with the transaction object in the first blockchain andgenerating a new transaction object using the transaction object, theforwarding request, and the revised hop count.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising forwarding the new transaction object to the secondblockchain.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the hop count furtherspecifying the total number of additional disparate blockchains to whichthe transaction object can be forwarded.
 4. The method of claim 1,further comprising validating the forwarding request and the forwardingof the new transaction object to the second blockchain.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, further comprising associating the transaction object with alist of approved blockchains to which the transaction object can beforwarded.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising validating theforwarding request based on the list of approved blockchains to whichthe transaction object can be forwarded.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein receiving a forwarding request from a forwarding agent node toforward the transaction object to a second blockchain further comprisingreceiving a forwarding request to forward a termination transaction andgenerating a termination transaction object using the terminationtransaction.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising communicatingthe termination transaction object to the first blockchain.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, further comprising: in response to receiving thetermination object, removing the signed combination from the one or moreblockchain data structures of the first blockchain.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising associating a back-reporting specificationwith the transaction object, the back-reporting specification specifyingpermissions for back-reporting a chain of transactions from otherblockchains to the first blockchain.
 11. One or non-transitory moreprocessor-readable storage media encoding processor-executableinstructions for executing on a computer system a computer process, thecomputer process comprising: receiving a transaction object at a storagedevice, the storage device storing one or more blockchain datastructures generated and managed by the storage device for a firstblockchain; associating the transaction object with a hop countspecifying the number of blockchains to which the transaction object canbe forwarded; cryptographically signing a combination of the transactionobject and the hop count using a cryptographic key associated with thestorage device and storing the signed combination in the one or moreblockchain data structures; receiving a forwarding request from aforwarding agent node to forward the transaction object to a secondblockchain; and in response to determining that the hop count is greaterthan zero, revising the hop count associated with the transaction objectin the first blockchain and generating a new transaction object usingthe transaction object, the forwarding request, and the revised hopcount.
 12. The one or non-transitory more processor-readable storagemedia of claim 11, wherein the computer process further comprisingforwarding the new transaction object to the second blockchain.
 13. Theone or non-transitory more processor-readable storage media of claim 11,wherein the hop count further specifying the total number of additionaldisparate blockchains to which the transaction object can be forwarded.14. The one or non-transitory more processor-readable storage media ofclaim 11, wherein the computer process further comprising validating theforwarding request and the forwarding of the new transaction object tothe second blockchain.
 15. The one or non-transitory moreprocessor-readable storage media of claim 14, wherein the computerprocess further comprising associating the transaction object with alist of approved blockchains to which the transaction object can beforwarded.
 16. The one or non-transitory more processor-readable storagemedia of claim 15, wherein the computer process further comprisingvalidating the forwarding request based on the list of approvedblockchains to which the transaction object can be forwarded.
 17. Theone or non-transitory more processor-readable storage media of claim 15,wherein the computer process further comprising associating aback-reporting specification with the transaction object, theback-reporting specification specifying permissions for back-reporting achain of transactions from other blockchains to the first blockchain.18. A system comprising: one or more processors; a memory; a transactingnode configured to: receiving a transaction object at a storage device,the storage device storing one or more blockchain data structuresgenerated and managed by the storage device for a first blockchain,associating the transaction object with a hop count specifying thenumber of blockchains to which the transaction object can be forwarded,cryptographically signing a combination of the transaction object andthe hop count using a cryptographic key associated with the storagedevice and storing the signed combination in the one or more blockchaindata structures; and a forwarding node configured to: detect thegeneration of the transaction object in the first blockchain, and inresponse to the detection of the generation of the transaction object inthe first blockchain determine that the hop count is greater than zero,revise the hop count associated with the transaction object in the firstblockchain and generate a new transaction object using the transactionobject, the forwarding request, and the revised hop count.
 19. Thesystem of claim 18, wherein the transacting node is further configuredto associate the transaction object with a list of approved blockchainsto which the transaction object can be forwarded.
 20. The system ofclaim 18, wherein the transacting node is further configured toassociate a back-reporting specification with the transaction object,the back-reporting specification specifying permissions forback-reporting a chain of transactions from other blockchains to thefirst blockchain.